Why is building peace in a context such as the Congolese conflicts so hard? Despite many efforts, including the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission, international treaties, and peace talks, peacebuilding in eastern Congo has become a difficult task with a myriad of complexities. Havenith and Vogel seek to understand these challenges.
Essays
Essays present critical analysis and debate on a pressing issue in African peacebuilding.
Essays
Al-Shabaab Terror in Kenya: Implications for Peace and Security in the Region
by Shadrack W. Nasong'o
With the terrorist group Al-Shabaab coming forward and taking responsibility for the recent Westgate Attack in Nairobi, the debate over the implications for security across the region has been rejuvenated. Shadrack W. Nasong'o's analyzes these through several lenses: doubts about the efficiency of the Kenyan intelligence and security agencies, Kenya's continued military presence in Somalia, the recruitment of non-Somali East Africans among Al-Shabaab, and the desperate nature of this specific attack in light of Al-Shabaab's own defeat within Somalia.
Essays
The Westgate Mall Siege: Reassessing Kenya’s Security Architecture
by Awino Okech
The Westgate siege affirms an observation made by many concerned Kenyans over the years, and more fervently since March: that there is a nexus between the high levels of insecurity in the country and the operational weaknesses of our security forces. This paper looks inward at the state of Kenya's security system and lessons that can be learned from the Westgate siege.
Conflict
Transnational Threats to Peace in Africa
by Prosper Addo
This article illustrates the scope and magnitude of threats within Africa by focusing on drug- trafficking, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and terrorism and will offer suggestions for effectively combating them and promoting peace and security within the continent.
Conflict
Recurrent Crisis in the Eastern DRC: Petty Imperialism and Reconceptualizing the Peace Process
by Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the richest regions in the country, with diverse mineral deposits and vast arable lands. Even more than the rest of the country, however, this region has been ravaged by widespread war, sexual brutality against girls and women, theft of natural resources, and ongoing […]
Essays
Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Importance of Documentation in Postwar Education and Reconciliation
by Proscovia Svärd
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are temporarily established to investigate and document war atrocities committed against civilian populations They promote reconciliation between erstwhile enemies, as well as victims and perpetrators, and make recommendations to the post-conflict governments that have supported their establishment on how to avoid any recurrence of abuses. Despite the engagement of national […]
Conflict
Congolese Crisis and Demographic Problems in the African Great Lakes
by Guy Aundu Matsanza
The frequent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is part of a series of interlinked, complex conflicts encompassing the African Great Lakes region. The DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda all appear to be connected by geographical and historical factors and the legacies of decades of conflict interspersed by episodes of peace. Conflict in […]
Essays
From Ethnic Violence to Seeds of Peace: Pastoralists, Youth, and Intercommunity Peacebuilding in Northwestern Kenya
by Willis Okumu
Introduction Northwestern Kenya has been a theatre of violent conflict pitting the Pokot, Samburu, and Turkana communities against one another in a fierce and deadly competition. This has been catalyzed by diminishing pasture and water resources, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, political incitement, disputes over land and ethnic boundaries, the absence of […]
Essays
Prospects for Peacebuilding in Eastern Congo?
by Morten Bøås
After controlling Goma for 11 days, M23 has now left the city. This is, unfortunately, not the end of the conflict. Not only must a more lasting settlement be reached, but what happened when the Congolese army (FARDC) ran away and the world’s largest peacekeeping force, the United Nations Organization Stabilizing Mission in the Democratic […]
Essays
Towards More Effective Partnership Peacekeeping in Africa
by Paul Williams
Partnership peacekeeping involves official or unofficial attempts by multiple actors to coordinate the objectives of their peace operations. In Africa, the last two decades have seen partnership peacekeeping become more and more common. This is the result of several interrelated trends, but perhaps foremost among them is the widespread recognition that no single international organization has either a monopoly on peacekeeping or the capabilities to deal with Africa’s conflict-management challenges alone.